On Monday, former NFL wide receiver Robert Meachem was sentenced to 30 days in jail over his failure to pay almost $400,000 in child support. The New Orleans Advocate first reported Meachem’s sentencing.
A judge ruled that Meachem had only paid $200,000 of the $588,000 that he owed his ex-wife in alimony and child support. Meachem and his wife Andrea Rhodes have two children together and they divorced in 2014, shortly after his NFL career ended. He testified late last year that he’d been unable to pay up because a former business manager has conned him out of millions of dollars. According to the Advocate, Meachem can get out of jail if he pays a quarter of the money he owes:
To get out, Meachem needs to cough up at least $100,000 for Andrea Rhodes, with whom he has two children. Otherwise, he will be behind bars until March 15, according to a ruling from Judge Adrian Adams of Jefferson Parish’s 24th Judicial District Court.
The Saints picked Meachem in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft, and he spent four seasons with them (winning a Super Bowl) before signing a long-term $25.5 million deal with the Chargers in 2012. Meachem lasted a year in San Diego before heading back to New Orleans for two more seasons. The greatest play of his career wasn’t a catch, however, but a fumble return touchdown that he engineered himself after Drew Brees tossed a pick.